The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-04-06
BORING FOR NATURAL GAS.
How and Where the New Fuel Supply
Has Been Discovered in Indiana.
Progress of the Drilling In and About Indi-
anapolis-Fifty Wells Will Be Needed to
Fully Supply the City with Fuel.

sWhat are the limits of'the natural gas field !,
in Indianal' inquired Journal reporter yester- j
day afternoon of Judge E. B. Martindae, who
has been making a study of natural gas for some
time.
mo gas" he replied, has been struck in
paying quantities south of line drawn from
Portland, in Jay county, through Muncie. An
derson, and to Noblesville, although twenty or
thirty wells have been sunk south of this line
Dry wells may be found at Union City, Win
chester, Richmond. Williamsburg, New Castle,
Connersville, Shelbyvie, Indianapolis and
other places. The gas, when found, is always
in what is known as Trenton limestone.
Where gas is found. this stone is porous At
Shelbyville the Trenton was found to
be porous, but contained no gas. The
distance from the surface to the
Trenton is remarkably uniform throughout the
States of Ohio and Indiana. At Findlav and
Lima it is fourd at about 1000 feet at Eaton, In
diana, at 800 feet. This was the first strong and
continuous flow of gas found in this State. At
Bluffton. the Trenton was struck at 1850 feet
with little gas. At Kokomo, at 81 6 feet, a fair
flow OF gas was found. In two other wells at
904 feet Trenton was struck with a better flow
of gas. At Muncie the Trenton was struck at
SIG feet, and strong flow of gas was secured
by goiEg twenty-five feet into the rock. At
Upton the Trenton was struck at 997 feet, with
a slight flow of oil, and while the wells
driven from thirty to forty feet in the Trenton
no supply of gas was obtained, while at Port
land the Trenton was reached at 900 feet and a
very strong flow of gas secured at eight feet In to
the rock. At Anderson the Trenton was struck
at less than 900 feet and strong flow OF gas
was found at about eight feet in the Trenton. AT
Nohlesville the wells are less than 900 feet and
go only three or four feet into the Trenton.
The flow of gas is not as strong as
ct three or four other points in the State
AT Marion. where a very strong flow OF gas has
been secured, the Trenton is struck at less than
900 feet, and, like Findlay and Portland all the
wells yet sunk produce gas. At Indianapolis
(the gas company's wel) the Trenton was struck
at 916 feet It was dense and close grained as
Italian marble. and. though the company went
down into it over 700 feet, gas was found
Strong surface indications of gas and burning
wells have been secured by shallow boring at
Landersdale twelve miles south of the city; at
Bridgeport, ten miles west of the city; at or
| near Zionsvie, fifteen miles northwest of the
city; at Carmel, fifteen miles north of the city.
| and at Westfeld twenty miles north of the city.
| This surface flow may come from the Trenton
Z rock below, and may come from some distinct
7 gas field"
| "As to the borings into the Trenton rock
| questioned the reporter; ''how far should the
drill go before the quest for gas is given up in
that localityP'
| Zone might as we'll quit" said the Judge,
"after thirty forty feet into that rock. The
/ Indianapolis Gaslight and Coke Company. at
their we'll on South street, continued boring into
the Trenton rock and fooled away about 81. 900.
| AS to surface indications of gas, biologists say
that Is only marsh gas. but when we come to
analyze the natural gas, we find at FindlayD O.,
| in PENNSYLVANIA and other strong gas fields, that
92 81 OF the constituent parts of the gas is marsh
! gas the remaining parts being hydrogen nitro
| and carhnnic arid with of other
| stituents. The wells that are being sunk in the
vicinity of Indianapolis, and which will be down
| into the Trenton rock within ten or fifteen days.
| will furnish sufficient light upon the sub
| ject as to whether in the belt
| whether any gas is struck or not It will show
where our supply is to come from. Our COM
pany is sinking well at Bridgeport, ten miles
| west which is 400 feet down. with very favorable
indications. The Capital City company is sink
| ing one at Brightwood, which is down over 200
| feet They struck limestone or hard substance
in that we'll at nearly 200 feet, whereas stone
| was struck at the Indianapolis Gas-light and
Coke Company's we'll. in this city, at l1S feet
| which shows that the elevation at Brightwood is
not in the stone but in the glacial drift. The
company known as the Citizens, of which John
| j. Cooper is president, is sinking q well the
bank of Fall Creek, near Twelfth street, and
struck limestone to-day at little less
than 100 feet. The Broad Ripple company
com nenced boring at that place to-day. The
| Indianapolis Natural-gas Company to-day began
the erection of a derrick at Westfeld and in
thirty days will have we'll down there If all
these prospects are unsuccessful it will show
that We must 90 to the northeast to find our
supply. There is no practical difficulty in the
way of piping full supply of gas to this city
| from a distance of twenty or twenty-five miles,
or even further. if the initial pressure strong
There is great deal of money being wasted in
Indiana in sinking wells. say wasted, because
it is waste of money to sink wells outside the
gas field, and thirty forty wells have al
ready been sunk south of the line indicated.
running from Portland to Nohiesville it would
seem 1t should be sufficient to satisfy gas seek
ers Still, people in the various towns anxious
to secure gas. and driving down wells
all over the State The whole business is like
| mining. There are certain belts regions of
country in which there is mineral, and there
people go to prospect for gold, or silver. what
ever it is. But it is waste of money for a man
to be prospecting in Indiana for silver gold
mine. and perhaps quite as unreasonable to bore
for gas in Indiana outside the field. There is,
however, no reasonable doubt that gas will bs
secured for Indianapolis, at not more than
twenty miles distance. and strong probability
that it will not have to be piped that far. That
it will be in use here during next winter have
no doubt.
"The question of continuous supply Of this gas
is one that will have to be pretty we'll demo on
strated before capitalists will put large capital
into piping great distances and supplying cities.
Observations are being taken on wells struck in
Indiana beginning with the first one struck at
Eaton. It is claimed both ways-by3 some. that
| the output is OelnR. IN some cases, 0lmlDlSneu,
while by others the output is increasing con-
stanty in all the wells, and the field, it is found
is so great in Indiana that it gives strong con
fdence that the supply is inexhaustible 1t is
quite likely that there will be legislation the
sub.ect-that the Legislature will be re-
sorted to, as in Pennsylvania, to prevent
waste of natural-gas by boring and leaving IN
| plugged wells that not utilized. The cost
OF piping to Indianapolis-say twenty miles
and supplying the city would require capita
of from $500 600 $500, 900. Piping costs ST. 50(
mile. $3.50, 900 for twenty miles, and another
$3.50, 900 to pipe the city. 1t would require fifty
| wallis Of ha Of ha In